Week 6: “Serial” Podcast Response – Hanna Rinderknecht-Mahaffy

The podcast, Serial employs specific use of sounds and music to draw the listener into the story. At the very beginning of the podcast, the intro music for the podcast is somewhat suspenseful and mysterious in nature, setting the stage for the frustrating feeling the listener can feel throughout the podcast due to never really knowing the answer to who killed Hae Min Lee. The recorder call from the prison in the intro further cements the seriousness of the story, with Adnan serving time for the murder he says he did not commit. The music that is played in the intro is also played repeatedly throughout the podcast in the background, particularly when the reporter is narrating the facts of what happened to Hae, or when she is narrating some dramatic/suspenseful section.

The other audio aspect that stood out to me was the audio of past recordings from police interviews, court proceedings, etc. These audio pieces are powerful because they bring you back to the time and place of the initial investigation (which happened many years before the podcast was created). This make the whole mystery seem more current and relevant to the listener, which I think helps to hold your interest and creates further interest in the updates on the case. This is very relevant, as since the podcasts release, Adnan has taken multiple actions to try to get a new trial, and was eventually successful. 

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